1. Field of the Invention
Battery packaging construction of the type wherein a flat battery cell or pack is encased in a multi-layered flexible plastic structure to provide water vapor, oxygen and other protection to the battery cell or pack components.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have been many structures proposed for packaging battery cells and packs. The packaging of alkali metal batteries to protect the active components from outside contamination and damage requires special consideration due to the nature of the active components. The nature of the packaging is therefore determined to some extent by the nature of the components.
Alkali metal battery components do not react favorably to the presence of water vapor and other contaminants, which requires that they be assembled and maintained in an inert dry atmosphere. It is also desirable to provide structures that are of recyclable components and materials.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 5,057,385, to Hope et al., battery packaging construction is described which includes a base having an outer layer of metallized mylar plastic on the bottom, a first layer of metal foil with a layer of heat sealable material onto which the battery is placed, and a second layer of metal foil which is placed on top of the battery, which has a layer of heat sealable material in contact with the battery. The heat sealable layers are heated and pressed together to seal the battery therebetween. A frame may also be adhesively secured to the battery. While this structure is satisfactory for many applications, it is bulky, expensive, and requires multiple assembly operations.
For multiple battery packs, it is desirable to be able to deep draw the packaging, which is difficult if the packaging materials are metal.
The battery packaging construction of the invention does not suffer from the prior art problems and provides many positive advantages.